Police: No additional charges planned for Hairston

By AARON BEARD , Associated Press

Jul. 10, 20136:55 PM ET

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A Durham police spokeswoman said Wednesday there are no plans to file additional charges from the June traffic stop that resulted in the drug arrest of North Carolina basketball leading scorer P.J. Hairston.

Hairston was arrested June 5 during a license checkpoint in Durham while driving a rented SUV with two passengers. All three were charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession.

Kammie Michael said in an email that the department "does not anticipate filing any additional charges in this case" and that it wouldn't release additional information.

Officers also seized a 9mm handgun that was found outside the rental vehicle during the search. When asked whether authorities had linked the weapon to anyone, Michael said she didn't "have access to that information now."

The rental vehicle was one of two driven by Hairston and later linked to a convicted felon facing a pending drug case.

Earlier Wednesday, North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham issued a statement saying the school is still gathering information on potential improper conduct by members of the men's basketball team.

Cunningham's statement didn't name any player specifically. But the AD did say he and coach Roy Williams "will support the appropriate disciplinary measures" for any player if warranted at the completion of the university's investigation.

"We take these matters very seriously and are looking into these reports and the inferences they contain with all due diligence," Cunningham said. "It is my practice not to comment on the individuals involved or the details surrounding these reports until we have sufficient understanding of the facts involved. We are still gathering information, learning information from other sources, and we will not comment until we have a strong grasp of each individual situation."

The school started gathering information after Hairston was arrested and also cited for driving without a license. He and his two passengers — Miykael Faulcon, a rising sophomore basketball player at Elizabeth City State; and Carlos Sanford, also of Durham — also face an August court hearing in the case.

Rental records, first reported by USA Today, show the 2013 GMC Yukon that Hairston was driving that night was rented in the name of Haydn "Fats" Thomas of Durham. According to those records, Thomas rented the vehicle from June 2 to June 5 for a cost of $1,261.64.

Faulcon declined to comment about the incident when approached after a game at the Greater N.C. Pro-AM summer basketball league in Durham on Tuesday night.

Hairston was also cited for speeding in Durham on May 13 in a 2012 Chevrolet Camaro that was rented under the name of Catinia Farrington with the same home address as Thomas in Durham. That rental ran from April 25 to June 17 at a cost of $3,249, according to rental records.

That same vehicle was also rented under Thomas' name from March 25 to April 15 for a total of $2,468.47. And it was ticketed twice for parking without a valid permit on the UNC campus in Chapel Hill, once on April 15 and again on May 28.

John R. Griffin III, a Durham attorney representing Thomas in his pending drug case from a December arrest, declined to comment when reached Wednesday afternoon.

The school is already investigating whether NBA agent Rodney Blackstock has improper ties to Hairston or any other UNC athlete. Blackstock is the founder and CEO of Hooplife Academy in Greensboro, Hairston's hometown. Cunningham said last month that the school had been in contact with the NCAA "on a regular basis" on the Blackstock issue.

Cunningham said Wednesday the school is working to "bring these matters to resolution as soon as possible."

Hairston averaged 14.6 points for the season, though he averaged 18 points and shot 40 percent on 3-pointers over the final 13 games after becoming a sophomore starter in a four-guard lineup. He announced in April that he would return for his junior season instead of entering the NBA draft.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A Durham police spokeswoman said Wednesday there are no plans to file additional charges from the June traffic stop that resulted in the drug arrest of North Carolina basketball leading scorer P.J. Hairston.